Cohort profile: the international collaboration of incident HIV and hepatitis C in injecting cohorts (InC3) study

Abstract

The International Collaboration of Incident HIV and Hepatitis C in Injecting Cohorts (InC(3)) Study is an international multi-cohort project of pooled biological and behavioural data from nine prospective cohorts of people who inject drugs (PWID). InC(3) brings together researchers from Australia, Canada, USA and the Netherlands with expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical and behavioural sciences, virology and immunology to investigate research questions relevant to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV outcomes. InC(3) was established to: (i) create a merged multi-cohort study of pooled data from well-characterized cohorts of PWID with prospective data on HIV and HCV infections, with a particular focus on HCV; (ii) facilitate new studies not possible within individual cohorts; and (iii) bring together researchers across disciplines to answer a broad range of research questions. Study cohorts identify acute HCV cases through follow-up of high-risk HCV antibody-negative PWID or through clinical referral networks. To date, data from 1986 to 2010 have been received from all contributing cohorts, with 821 HCV-infected and 1216 HCV-uninfected participants (overall, n = 2037). Data collected include demographics, host genetics, HCV ribonucleic acid testing, alanine aminotransferase testing, HIV/hepatitis B virus testing, HCV therapy, loss to follow-up and mortality. Potential collaborators should contact the InC(3) PI Dr Kimberley Page (kPage@psg.ucsf.edu) for further information.

Figure 1

Geographical locations of the nine participating cohorts in the InC³ study. This includes the following cohorts: (1) Australian Trial in Acute Hepatitis C (ATAHC), Sydney, Australia; (2) Amsterdam Cohort Studies (ACS), Amsterdam, the Netherlands; (3) Boston Acute HCV Study: Transmission, Immunity and Outcomes Network (BAHSTION), Boston, USA; (4) Baltimore Before and After Acute Study of Hepatitis (BBAASH), Baltimore, USA; (5) St. Luc Cohort, HEPCO (for the acute HCV subcohort), Montreal, Canada; (6) Hepatitis C Incidence and Transmission Study–community (HITS-c) (HCV VPS/HITS-c), Sydney, Australia; (7) Hepatitis C Incidence and Transmission Study (HITS) in prison (HITS-p), Sydney, Australia; (8) Networks 2 (N2), Melbourne, Australia; and (9) UFO STUDY, San Francisco, USA